SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD schoolboy sensation Pablo Martin has history in his sights going into the final round of the Canaries Spanish Open in Tenerife today.

Trying to become not just the youngest player ever to win on the European tour but also the first amateur champion since the circuit's official birth in 1971, Martin produced a brilliant third-round 64 to reach the 54-hole mark on 19 under par.

He is part of a six-way tie for the lead with English trio Paul Casey, Kenneth Ferrie and Simon Khan, fellow Spaniard Santiago Luna and Dane Soren Hansen.

Martin's 17th birthday was only last Sunday and the 2001 British boys champion is appearing in merely his second tour event. He missed the halfway cut in the first.

Already the Spanish amateur champion, the Malaga teenager had forced his way onto the leaderboard in the second round only to three-putt the final three greens - two of them for bogeys and one for par.

That, many must have thought, would be as good as it got for him this week at least. But he was quickly to prove them wrong.

Resuming on 11 under, four adrift of Casey and Miles Tunnicliff, Martin birdied five of the first nine holes at Costa Adeje to turn in 31, then picked up further shots at the 11th and 13th, both par fives.

He pulled his drive slightly to the 542-yard last, but hooked his second to the back of the green and two-putted from 18 feet for his eighth birdie.

The best-ever performance by an amateur on the tour proper is fourth place by American Gary Hallberg, Northern Ireland's Ronan Rafferty, Scot Gordon Sherry, England's Justin Rose at the 1998 Open and Spaniard Rafael Cabrera at last year's Spanish Open.

But before the tour's launch Irishman David Sheehan won the 1961 Jeyes tournament at Royal Dublin against a field of professionals.

Martin's round was only one outside the course record equalled earlier in the day by former Ryder Cup player David Gilford, who had brought his suitcase to the course 24 hours earlier following an opening 72 which was the 14th worst score.

The schoolboy's 19-under aggregate was also only four more than the tour record established by Ernie Els in Australia in February.

"The first thing I feel is just happiness," he said. "I didn't make any mistakes apart from some short putts and unlike yesterday, I was not nervous."

Ferrie, the 24-year-old from Ashington in the north-east whose best tour finish was joint third in last year's French Open, was the first to match Martin's total.

For that he eagled both the 518-yard 13th and the last, hitting three-woods to two feet and 15 feet.

"If there was a course I didn't think I would do well on this is it," he said. "I'm pretty straight and not the longest out here, but my goal at the start of the week was to try to score six-under every day." He is one ahead of that target.

Hansen birdied the 18th for a 65, then Luna and Khan, from Essex, did the same for 66s.

All day long Casey looked the likeliest to take top spot, but as well as a 25-foot eagle at the eighth and four birdies the Surrey 25-year-old had two bogeys and then could only par the last for a 68.

That was still better than playing partners Tunnicliff (69) and Jose Maria Olazabal, the double Masters champion's hopes of a first-ever Spanish Open suffering a setback with a 69. He is only three back, but he is joint 14th.

Sergio Garcia, trying to become the first player since Max Faulkner 50 years ago to make a successful defence, had a 66, but is five behind.